Please Help, Anxiety or Is This Normal?

I think you've answered your own question.
Yes, it might be normal to "mentally troubleshoot" a preschool party, but to lose sleep over it?
It might be normal to feel you could use more space, but to regret buying a house?
IF you do, indeed, have anxiety or depression or bi-polar issues, it is NOT uncommon to self medicate (wine, exercise, etc.).
I would probably think you might want to talk to your PCP about this.
All in all, I think if you have anxiety to the point where it's affecting your "daily life" then you have an anxiety problem, kwim? Good luck!
Good luck!

Okay, first off, take a deep breath.
Secondly, trying to get a little out of your comfort zone is good. Taking on
too much, however, is not.
Third of all, I would suggest making an appt w/a psychologist that comes
w/your medical health plan. A professional to talk to and sort out your
feelings and thoughts.
Exercise is great. Keep it up.
Find things that help you wind down (besides alcohol), a 20 min walk by
yourself after hubby gets home from work or after dinner.
Stop worrying about the house. It is useles to worry about it now.
Having kids changes things. We worry more, stress more etc.
I have always, always been a happy, positive person & getting married (w/some of it's stresses), having kids & dealing w/adult stresses in life have changed me dramatically. I am no longer that carefree young adult.

Having said that, my life is blessed.
And it is what I make it.
So I try to make a conscious chice each & every day to look at the good in my life, be thankful, take care of myself, get help when I need it (ask for it too), exercise, do something nice for myself as often as I can, talk to friends, go to the doctor when I need to & for annual check ups.

Our parents & the lives we led growing up w/them do affect us, however, once we become adults it is up to us how we live our life.

I am a great culmination of my parents yet I am wildly different in a lot of ways and in my views.

You do want to get to the root of your mood swings because that is hard to life with. For you and your husband.

Be strong, make smart choices.

Don't worry about the preschool party. Make a list. Don't make it extravagant. A

I was going to suggest exercise - but you already do it. Good for you.

Maybe you do need to talk to someone. Here's what I know - brain research shows that some brains are just wired to be less happy than others. But lack of happiness and anxiety are not really in the exact same category, and you mentioned both things.

Regarding anxiety - yes, it seems like you bring a lot of it on yourself. Remind yourself that life is short, and none of this stuff matters. It really is silly to get all worked up over a preschool party, for example. The closer I get to the grave, the easier it is too see that it really is all "small stuff," and to let go of stupid, self-induced anxiety.

As far as feeling happy - that's something else, and maybe counseling is in order if you have difficulty feeling happy.

What's normal really? It sounds to me like this anxiety, or whatever it may be, is really impacting your life and keeping you from being happy. If you can afford it, I think it might be really helpful to find a therapist you trust to work with. Shop around and make sure you feel comfortable, then get ready to do some hard work. I don't see how you can lose.

it definitely sounds like you have anxiety to me. i have social anxiety (and generalized anxiety i think) and i purposely chose my classes in college around my anxiety (ie. looking at syllabi to see how much public speaking requirements there would be). when i finally went to a therapist they said if your anxiety is ever impeding how you would normally live your life, like my choosing classes based on public speaking, then your anxiety is a problem. your switching to a different college definitely speaks to that. it sounds like you have a history of alcoholism which is sometimes created by a history of anxiety (a lot of people self medicate with alochol) so go see a therapist. you would be considered "overreacting" so don't worry!

I think that some of what you describe is "normal". I suffer from anxiety. The situation you described with the preschool is similar to what I go thru. The mood swings are another. Yes, you may bring it on yourself, but it's not something you can control, at least not fully.

The best place to start is to discuss this with your regular physician. She/he can then give you a recomendation on the best way to proceed.

It could be a hormone imbalance. Bring that up to your doctor.

Or, it could just be that you're under a lot of stress. I don't think your problems sound outlandish or like you're overreacting. You might get some real benefit out of meeting with a counselor once a week or so, to talk things out and discuss how you can handle things differently. Just having that objective person to listen to you can work wonders.

Some things to think about.....are you sleeping normally? Are you eating normally? Do you feel like you have a ton of energy sometimes and can go without sleep? Are you impulsive with buying? I ask these questions because sometimes ups/downs can be a sign of bipolar disorder. You should research it to see if it sounds familiar. Sometimes it will only present itself in a mania state. It could be normal...but it could not be. Sometimes chemicals are imbalanced and that can lead to anxiety. Sometimes underlying conditions like with thyroid can also cause imbalance in mood. I would definitely do some research about your symptoms and talk to your doctor about it. My father was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder at the age of 70 believe it or not. I am sure he had it for a long time and his symptoms were never enough to warrant a psychiatric evaluation...Good Luck!